Hardpan auger

ABSTRACT

Taught is an auger having a working head ( 15 ), a ratcheting T-handle ( 50 ), and a shaft ( 20 ) attached there between forming a hand-powered ratcheting auger for drilling holes near the ground surface. Shaft ( 20 ) may include one or more lengths of extension shaft parts to control the length of the shaft. Working head ( 15 ) contains a drill-bit ( 14 ), semi-circular non-planar cutting blades ( 12 ), a working head shaft part ( 22 ), with the drill-bit and cutting blades fixedly attached to the working head shaft part and shaft part ( 22 ) detachably attached to shaft ( 20 ). The auger may also include an air induction unit  66  including an air-receiving opening in the T-shaped handle; an air-line  60  positioned within a hollow of the shaft connecting the air-receiving opening with air exhaust openings so as a jet of the air can blow out of said auger to break up and blow away the drilling detritus.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Non-Provisional Application claims the benefit of the filing date of Provisional Application 61/387,579 filed Sep. 29, 2010.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the art of advancing bore holes, and more particularly, to improvements in the construction and operation of hand powered advancement tools.

The background information discussed below is presented to better illustrate the novelty and usefulness of the present invention. This background information is not admitted prior art.

Underground excavations may be performed using powered or manual digging apparatus. Hole boring using a powered-auger is a commonly accepted way of providing for holes in the ground. Conventional, powered-auger assemblies consist of a central power transmission stem twin helical auger flighting that provides for removing pick-up, optional tooth mounting bars with digger teeth, and a pilot point. Boring using the undercutting principal is best achieved by utilizing the flightings on the central power transmission stem, with or with-out the addition of cutting teeth on the flightings. The flightings are designed so that as the radial distance from the centerline or axis of the auger drill increases the depth that can be cut increases. Furthermore, as the radial distance from the centerline of the auger increases, the cutting teeth, or cutting edge, in radially subsequent rows precede those in the adjacent radially inner row. This variation of design allows advancement in particularly hard layered formations, such as clay, although, conventional augers in use today, both powered and hand-powered, are somewhat limited in the types, i.e., compositions of formations that they can advance into.

To assure public safety and to prevent damage to public and private property, New York State (NYS) has established procedures to protect underground facilities (see NYS General Business Law Article 36 (Protection of Underground Facilities) and Public Service Law Section 119-b (Part 753, also referred to as Industrial Code 53). The law requires: (1) that before using power equipment within the tolerance zone (i.e., the distance of one-half the known diameter of the underground facility plus two feet on either side of the designated center line of the facility), the locations of gas, utilities, and petroleum lines must be verified by means hand-dug test holes and, (2) that power equipment may be used for removal of pavement, only to the depth of pavement. Failure to comply with this, or with any other provision, of this law shall result in a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars for the first violation and up to an additional seven thousand five hundred dollars for each succeeding violation which occurs in connection with the entire self-same excavation or demolition activity within a two month period.

SUMMARY

Hand-held, manually powered digging tools, commonly referred to as hand-augers, have helped to fulfill this mandate, but the present inventors realized are not fully effective. Hand-dug holes are manually executed excavations used for designating, testing, or verification. Conventional hand-powered auger assemblies consist of shovels, post-holes diggers, and surface-soil sampling augers/equipment. Such augers cannot easily, quickly, or accurately meet the requirement of opening the hole to the diameter of the mechanized drill that will be used to continue drilling the bore and to install the well or other sub-surface equipment. Advancing a test borehole and retrieving the excavated soil with traditional means, such as a shovel, digging bar, or post hole digger, proves to be not only tedious, difficult work, but slow and inaccurate, as well. This is due partly to presently available hand-augers being two-inch diameter tools and thus, are awkward to use when digging a hole having a required minimum four-inch diameter. Such labor- and time-extensive work adds significantly to the cost of all projects.

Accordingly, the present inventors devised a set of inventive principles that provide for hand-powered augers having, among other attributes, the leverage and body-positioning ability that enable simple and easy boring, as compared to presently available augers. The examples of the invention described herein are capable of boring into harder and more varied surface soils, such as hard pan and other surface materials in a much more effortless manner and doing so time-efficiently. Additionally, an auger made using the inventive concept taught herein is able to provide for a bore hole with the required diameter, that is, the diameter of the powered tool that will continue boring past the maximum depth of the hand-auger.

In general, augers made according to the principles of the present invention may be defined as comprising a pilot point (also referred to as a “bit”) for locating the auger in a medium to be bored, and cutting means, extending out from behind from the pilot point, having a radially outermost portion defining the radius of the hole being bored and preceding to an inner portion that undercuts the material being drilled into and promotes fracture of this material to facilitate penetration of the auger into the medium. The cutting means and pilot point both extend from a first end of a length of auger shaft and are referred to as the “working end” or “working head” of the auger. The second end of the working head shaft may be directly connected to a ratcheted T-handle or may be connected to the ratcheted T-handle via one or several lengths of auger shaft extender parts. On the opposite end of the length of auger shaft is a ratcheted T-handle providing for easy and rapid working of the auger. If desired, compressed air may be fed through the shaft to promote disintegration of the medium being bored and to assist in removal of the boring debris. Advancing compressed air through the auger directly into the hole first disrupts and breaks apart the soil, providing for the cutting means, which is the example provided herein are a pair of semi-circular, gently-fluted cutting blades providing even more easily advancement through the soil. With, or without, the use of compressed air, once the auger has advanced to a reasonable depth, the excavated soil can be removed by removing the auger from the hole.

Still other benefits and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed specification and related drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that these and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention may be more fully comprehended and appreciated, the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to specific examples thereof which are illustrated in appended drawings wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures. It should be understood that these drawings only depict one example of the present invention that clearly presents the use of inventive concepts and are not therefore to be considered limiting in scope, thus, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the example of the invention, as shown in FIG. 1, with the auger separated into two parts.

FIG. 3 is a perspective close-up front view of the head of the example shown in

FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective close-up view of one side of the head of the example shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective close-up view of another side of the head of the example shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective close-up view of the joint connections of the separate shaft parts of the example shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 a is a perspective close-up view of the male joint connection of the separate shaft parts of the example shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 b is a perspective close-up view of the female joint connection of the separate shaft parts of the example shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a perspective close-up view of the backside of the T-handle of the example shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a perspective close-up view of the front side of the T-handle of the example shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the ratchet device, air hose, compressed air inlet, and actuator handle.

FIG. 9 is a perspective close-up view of the head of the example shown in FIG. 1 showing the air holes on each side of the diamond-shaped tip providing for compressed air to be injected into the bore hole that is being advanced.

A LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS AND PARTS TO WHICH THEY REFER

-   10 An example of a hardpan auger according to the principles of the     present invention. -   12 One version of the auger blades of the example illustrated. -   14 A bit. -   15 Auger (working) head of the example illustrated. -   20 Shaft of the example illustrated. -   22 Shaft part of the example illustrated attached to head 15. -   24 A shaft extension. -   26 Shaft part of the example illustrated attached to handle 50. -   28 O-ring seals. -   32 A male shaft insertion connector part. -   33 A hexagonally-shaped neck of the male shaft connector part. -   34 A female shaft accepting connector part. -   35 A hexagonally-shaped receiving aperture of the female shaft     connector part. -   36 An optional set screw. -   38 An optional set screw aperture. -   50 T-handle of the example illustrated. -   52 Rod part of T-handle 50. -   54 A left/right ratchet. -   60 An air line. -   62 An air inlet aperture. -   64 An air exhaust opening. -   66 An air induction union. -   68 An air on/off lever. -   72 A pin valve.

DEFINITIONS

Auger, as used herein, refers to a device for moving material or liquid by means of a rotating flighting or blades. The material is moved along the axis of rotation. For some uses a helical ‘flighting’ is enclosed in a tube, for other uses the flighting is not encased, and yet for others, blades are used. Earth or soil auger, as used herein, refers to a device that can be a manually turned, handheld device, or powered by an electric motor or internal-combustion engine, possibly attached to a tractor. Flighting, as used herein, is a term to describe the sides of an auger, or any of various hand tools, typically having a threaded shank and cross handle or a rotating helical shaft for boring into the earth, wood, or ice. It may also refer to digging blades and a drill bit. Hardpan, as used herein, is a general term for a dense layer of soil, usually found below the uppermost topsoil layer. There are different types of hardpan, all sharing the general characteristic of being a distinct soil layer that is largely impervious to water. Some hardpans are formed by deposits in the soil that fuse and bind the soil particles. These deposits can range from dissolved silica to matrices formed from iron oxides and calcium carbonate. Others are man-made, such as hardpan formed by compaction from repeated plowing and pollution from man made sources. Ratchet, as used herein, is a device that allows continuous linear or rotary motion in only one direction while preventing motion in the opposite direction.

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now, with more particularity, to the drawings, it should be noted that the disclosed invention is disposed to examples in various sizes, shapes, and forms. Therefore, the examples described herein are provided with the understanding that the present disclosure is intended as illustrative and is not intended to limit the invention to the examples described herein.

The present invention is directed towards an improved hand-powered auger, designed, among other things, to meet the mandates of New York State Industrial Code 53 that requires the use of hand-powered drills before using powered equipment within the tolerance zone (i.e., the distance of one-half the known diameter of the underground facility plus two feet on either side of the designated center line of the facility), as explained above. That is, the locations of gas, utilities, and liquid petroleum lines must currently be verified by means time-consuming, difficult to dig, hand-dug test holes and that powered equipment may be used for removal of pavement, only to the depth of the pavement.

Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1, a perspective view, illustrates one example of a hardpan auger made according to the principles of the present invention. Hardpan auger 10 basically comprises working head 15, ratcheting T-handle 50, and shaft 20. Shaft 20 connects, and is positioned between, working head 15 and T-handle 50. Working head end 15 of the auger, comprises sharpened point drill-bit (pilot point) 14 and cutting blades 12 welded to working head shaft part 22 of shaft 20. In this example, cutting blades 12 consist of two approximately semi-circular non-planar cutting blades. The non-planar blade shape is used to advantage to ease cutting into the material being bored and to lift the bored material up and out of the bore. The number of cutting blades may be increased or decreased to suit the needs of a particular job. Increasing or decreasing the number of cutting blades used is within the scope of the invention. Shaft 20 may comprise one or more lengths of shaft, functionally connected to each other, to increase the length of the shaft, as required. Shaft 20 is lengthened by adding of one or more shaft extensions 24 (described further below). In the example illustrated, working head shaft part 22 has one end fixedly attached to and extending from auger head 15 and has its other end secured in a detachable manner to an end of shaft extension 24. The opposing end of shaft extension 24 is detachably attached to shaft part 26 that is fixed to and extends from ratcheting T-handle 50. Attached to T-handle 50 is air on/off lever 68 which will be discussed below.

FIG. 2, a perspective view, illustrates the invention, as shown in FIG. 1, with the auger separated into two parts by disconnecting shaft extension 24 from shaft part 34. This illustration shows how easy it is to increase or decrease the length of the auger to any desired length by adding or removing additional extension shaft-units 24 to the basic working head and handle shafts, 22 and 26, respectively.

FIG. 3, provides a close-up perspective end view of working head 15 showing fixedly attached pilot point (bit) 14 auger extending out from cutting blades 12. Note that, in this example, bit 14 is triangular-shaped, which shape is used to advantage by the rotating cutting motion of the two semi-circular, gently-angled cutting blades 12. The shape of the cutting blades may be altered to meet the demands of the material being bored. A change in the shape of the cutting blades is within the scope of the invention.

FIG. 4, close-up perspective side view of working head 15, illustrates more clearly the triangular shape of bit 14, the fluted shape of blades 12 and their physical relationship to each other, and the connection of pilot point 14 to working head shaft part 22. FIG. 5 is also a close-up perspective side view of working head 15 taken along the edge of bit 15.

As mentioned, one or more shaft-units may be connected to each other and to the shaft parts of working head 15 and handle 50 to increase the length of the auger, as desired. FIGS. 6, 6 a, and 6 b provide an example of the connections that may be used when adding one or more extension shafts to the auger. To attach basic extension shaft-unit 24 between basic head part 15 and T-handle 50, male insertion part 32 of extension shaft part 24 (see also FIGS. 1 and 2) is, in the example illustrated, inserted into female accepting part 34 that comprises the open end of shaft part 26 that is fixed to T-handle 50. The detachable attachment of male 32 to female part 34 is further secured, in this example, by positioning set screw 36 (FIG. 6 b) into set screw aperture 38 (as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6). Optional set screw 36 maintains the secure attachment of the attached shaft parts, especially when the auger is being removed from the bore-hole. It should be noted that there are many known and as yet unknown mechanisms and methods to securely attach shaft lengths to each other and all of these methods and mechanisms are within the scope of the invention. FIG. 6 a illustrates o-ring seals 28 inserted into their accepting spaces about end portion of shaft 34, the hollow of the shaft, and the hexagonally-shaped insertion neck 33 of the male shaft insertion connector part 32. FIG. 6 b illustrates the hexagonally-shaped receiving aperture 35 of female shaft connector part 34. The hexagonal shape of female receiving aperture 35 provides the hold that is necessary for transfer of the torque from the T-handle to the auger cutting blades. It should be understood that there are shapes other than hexagonal that will transfer torque, each of these shapes are within the scope of the invention.

FIG. 7, a perspective close-up view, illustrates the features best seen by looking at the one side of T-handle 50, while FIG. 8, another perspective close-up view, illustrates the features best seen by looking at the other side of T-handle 50 of the example shown in FIG. 1. Fixedly connected to T-handle 50 and extending therefrom approximately perpendicularly from a center point of T-handle 50 is rod, or shaft part, 52. The auger is advanced by turning the T-shaped handle in one direction to turn cutting blades 12. Ratchet fixture 54 determines that the ratcheting motion is a left/right turning motion, in this example. The turning motion is repeated until the auger advances to a desired depth.

As illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8, and 9, T-handle 50 with fixedly connected extension 52 may include air induction union 66 that provides an opening in extension 52 to provide for air from air-line 60 to travel down through the hollow of the entire shaft length to provide for a jet of compressed air to blow out of air exhaust openings 64 in blades 12 to both assist in breaking up the material being drilled and to blow the broken up material out of the hole to aid in providing for a clean hole. Compressed air may be provided to air line 60 via air inlet aperture connection 62, although the invention does not depend solely on this particular technique of supplying compressed air. The flow of compressed air through the auger is controlled by the dependent action of air on/off lever and pin valve 72.

To use auger 10 according to the principles of the present invention, working head 15 is attached to ratcheting T-handle 50 via one or more extension parts of shaft 20. By holding onto to the ratcheting T-handle end of the auger the sharpened point drill-bit (pilot point) 14 of working head end 15 is then positioned on the ground surface where a hole is to be drilled, that is where the underground utility is mapped. The auger is then advanced by turning the T-shaped handle in one direction to turn cutting blades 12. The turning motion is repeated until the auger advances to the desired depth. The auger is then removed from the hole, the utility is checked, and the hole is now ready to receive the drill bit of the powered auger. If desired, compressed air may be used to assist in breaking up the material being drilled and to blow the broken up material out of the hole to aid in providing for a clean hole. Compressed air is provided to the air line via air inlet aperture connection to travel down through the hollow of the entire shaft length to provide for a jet of compressed air to blow out of air exhaust openings. The flow of compressed air through the auger is controlled by use of the air on/off lever.

Thus it has been shown that there is now a set of inventive principles to provide for hand-powered ratcheted augers to provide rapid, safe, and easy drilling wherever hand-powered drilling is required or needed. The augers made accordingly are useful for all kinds of hand-powered drilling besides the augering required by geologic drilling outfits including the drilling of fence post holes, shallow wells, foundation spaces, and the like.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, uses specific and defined nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention as has been pointed out through out the teachings. Thus, the foregoing description of the specific example is presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made to the features, examples, and methods of making the examples of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the described methods, examples, features or combinations of features but include all the variation, methods, modifications, and combinations of features within the scope of the appended claims. The invention is limited only by the claims. 

1. An auger, comprising: a working head (15), a ratcheting T-handle (50), and a shaft (20) attached at a first end to said working head and at a second end to ratcheting T-handle forming a ratcheting auger forming a hand-powered auger for drilling holes in the ground.
 2. The auger, as recited in claim 1, wherein said working head (15) further comprises a drill-bit (14), one or more cutting blades (12), a working head shaft part (22), said drill-bit and one or more cutting blades fixedly attached to said working head shaft part.
 3. The auger, as recited in claim 2, wherein said working head shaft part (22) is attached in a detachable manner to said first end of said shaft (20).
 4. The auger, as recited in claim 3, wherein a first end of a T-handle shaft part 26 is fixed to and extends from said ratcheting T-handle
 50. 5. The auger, as recited in claim 4, wherein a second end of said shaft (20) is attached in a detachable manner to a second end of said T-handle shaft part
 26. 6. The auger, as recited in claim 5, wherein said shaft (20) may comprise one or more lengths of shaft extension parts (24) functionally attached to each other in a detachable manner to increase the length of the ratcheting auger.
 7. The auger, as recited in claim 6, wherein said one or more cutting blades (12) comprise one or more approximately semi-circular cutting blades.
 8. The auger, as recited in claim 7, wherein said one or more cutting blades (12) comprise non-planar cutting blades.
 9. The auger, as recited in claim 8, further comprising an air induction unit 66 including: an air-receiving opening in said T-shaped handle; an air-line 60 connecting said air-receiving opening with one or more air exhaust openings proximate to said one or more cutting blades so as a jet of the air introduced into said air-receiving opening blows out of said auger assisting in breaking and blowing away the drilling detritus out of the hole providing for a cleaner hole.
 10. The auger, as recited in claim 9, wherein a section of said air-line 60 defined as that section extending from air-receiving opening to said one or more air exhaust openings is positioned within a hollow space within said shaft.
 11. The auger, as recited in claim 10, further comprising an on/off air control lever.
 12. An auger, comprising: a working head (15), a ratcheting T-handle (50), and a shaft (20) attached at a first end to said working head and at a second end to ratcheting T-handle forming a ratcheting auger forming a hand-powered auger for drilling holes in the ground. said working head (15) further comprises a drill-bit (14), one or more cutting blades (12), a working head shaft part (22), said drill-bit and one or more cutting blades fixedly attached to said working head shaft part.
 13. The auger, as recited in claim 12, further comprising an air induction unit 66 including: an air-receiving opening in said T-shaped handle; an air-line 60 connecting said air-receiving opening with one or more air exhaust openings proximate to said one or more cutting blades so as a jet of the air introduced into said air-receiving opening blows out of said auger assisting in breaking and blowing away the drilling detritus out of the hole providing for a cleaner hole.
 14. The auger, as recited in claim 13, wherein a section of said air-line 60 is positioned within a hollow space within said shaft.
 15. The auger, as recited in claim 14, wherein said shaft (20) may comprise one or more lengths of shaft extension parts (24) functionally attached to each other in a detachable manner to increase the length of the ratcheting auger.
 16. The auger, as recited in claim 15, wherein said one or more cutting blades (12) comprise one or more approximately semi-circular, non-planar cutting blades.
 17. A method for drilling holes using a hand-powered auger, comprising the steps of: providing a working head (15), said working head comprising a drill-bit (14) and one or more cutting blades (12), providing a ratcheting T-handle (50), and providing a length of shaft (20), attaching one end to said shaft to said working head and attaching the other end of said shaft to said ratcheting T-handle forming a ratcheting auger, positioning said drill bit of said ratcheting auger on the area to be bored, advanced said drill-bit by turning the T-shaped handle in one direction to turn cutting blades until the auger advances to the desired depth.
 18. The method, as recited in claim 17, further comprising providing for an air induction unit 66 including an air-receiving opening in said T-shaped handle; an air-line 60 connecting said air-receiving opening with one or more air exhaust openings proximate to said one or more cutting blades so as a jet of the air introduced into said air-receiving opening blows out of said auger assisting in breaking and blowing away the drilling detritus out of the hole providing for a cleaner hole.
 19. The method, as recited in claim 18, wherein a section of said air-line 60 is positioned within a hollow space within said shaft.
 20. The method, as recited in claim 19, further comprising providing an on/off air control lever. 